The Inhabitants of the Land

The end of the Book of Bamidbar has a very stern warning about our relationship with the inhabitants of the land. The Torah tells us that if they are not driven from the land, they will be “thorns in your eyes.”

It appears that the instructions are clear that we need to show that we are the ones in control of Eretz Yisrael. We are to follow Yehoshua in the manner that he conquered the thirty-one kings when the Jews entered Israel.

He approached each of the kings and gave them three choices. They were politely asked to leave the land and save themselves. They could choose to make peace with Israel and accept גר תושב status, by observing the Seven Noachide Laws. The miracle in Joshua’s case is that all of the kings except for the Givonites, took the third option and made war with Israel.

In an ideal Torah state, the permanent residents of Israel would either be Jews, גרי צדק, righteous converts, or גרי תושב, resident strangers who observed the Seven Noachide Laws. There was no place for idolators.

Part of the mourning of these times, is that we are not yet a Torah State. G-d willing, that time will come soon with the building of the Third Temple.